NEWARK — The 19-year-old man killed last week in Newark, allegedly by his 15-year-old female friend, was stabbed in the heart, and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is still deciding whether to charge the girl as an adult, officials said today.

Kawan Heathington was killed Friday night on Pine Grove Terrace in the Lower Vailsburg section, a few blocks from his West Grove Terrace home. The prosecutor’s office acknowledged today it initially misidentified the victim, listing his name as Kawan Washington in a news release to reporters.

The suspect has been charged with murder and weapons possession. She is still being treated as a juvenile and being held at Essex County Youth House. Her name has not been released because she is a minor. There were witnesses to the stabbing, but so far no indication of a motive, authorities said.

The prosecutor’s office could seek to charge her as an adult — which would expose her to a life sentence if convicted of murder — but that decision has not been made, prosecutor’s office spokeswoman Katherine Carter said. A Superior Court judge in Newark would ultimately rule on whether to waive the case up to adult status.

In one of the most recent cases, the prosecutor’s office argued successfully to charge as adults two 15-year-old boys and a 16-year-old who were arrested in the August 2007 Newark schoolyard triple killing.